Babymoon in Atlantic City 2014

When I was pregnant with James we had a "stabymooon" which is a word Allison made up to help me describe a cross between a babymoon and "staycation." The word "staycation" was all the rage back then because the media had to find a way to talk about people being poor in the new economy in a way that didn't sound totally depressing. But since we live in New York, staying nearby still allowed us to do basically anything we could imagine.

This time, we waited a little longer, and I was a little wiser to the fact that walking too much would be unpleasant, so I thought it would be nice to just soak in a hotel pool somewhere.  Hotel room rate comparison revealed that the cheapest rate anywhere in our vicinity was actually in Atlantic City. I guess the theory is that you will make up for the cheap room rate by spending money on gambling and food at the casino. Plus, the Borgata has a much nicer pool than we could get locally.

James's first time at a casino

Gambling all my pennies on wishes in the fountain

When we got there Kevin stood online behind hundreds of senior citizens waiting to check in early while I entertained James with a walk around the Borgata. As soon as we were checked in we changed into our bathing suits and went for a swim. Two interesting things: one is that it's kind of liberating to be so huge. It felt really awesome to wear a bathing suit and not suck in my tummy. Second, going swimming in my 3rd trimester was accidental genius. The minute I stepped into the water, the reduced gravity felt like a huge relief on my back. It was like handing the baby to someone else to hold for a minute. I could lie on my stomach. I could even bend a little at the waist. It was magical.

James and I are all suited up

For James, the swimmies took some getting used to, and he alternated between being afraid and clingy and trying to assert his almost-3-year-old independence. But we couldn't get him to try floating on his own until it was almost time to go to dinner. He loved the pool though.

Clingy fun in the pool

Trying to teach him to kick or tread water

Clingy fun with Dada

Trying to dunk Dada

Family picture on a timer!

Look Ma! No hands! (OMG,look at that cute face!)

Promptly starts swimming away

We all took quick showers before dinner, which was itself an experience for James since he usually only takes baths. He seemed to enjoy the shower a lot as long as it didn't get his face wet at all. Ha. We went to dinner at a casual noodles place called N.O.W. where you had to sit at long tables with strangers. At least James was decently good at the restaurant and even ate a lot of dinner. He even got almost an entire mango juice to himself.

Walking to dinner inside the Borgata

Me and baby girl at dinner

After dinner, James and I shared a big gelato at Borgata Gelato, then we went to bed. Kevin went gambling for a little while as part of his pre-baby relaxation. I was happy to have gone to bed with James, when James woke up super early the next morning. After a big breakfast we went swimming again before checkout. This time James was a lot more comfortable with trying to swim back and forth between me and Kevin or being shuttled around by us in the pool. A very successful (and pleasantly short) babymoon overall. We agreed that James had the most fun, and when we got home he declared that he didn't want to be home, he wanted to "go back to the big house," which is what he decided to call the Borgata. Maybe in another 18 years, buddy.

Sharing gelato.

Our last visit to a casino was in Vegas in July.

Andrew Visits- February 2013

We threw Grandma Kathy a surprise party for her 60th birthday (more on the later) and as part of her surprise, Andrew flew up from Florida. We thought it would be good for him to visit in New York a little and then all drive up together for the surprise. The funny thing is that we had to keep the visit a secret from Grandma Kathy, so we had to make sure none of Andrew's friends posted anything about his absence online, and we had to make sure our friends in New York didn't post about his presence. We managed to keep it under wraps.

Andrew arrived Thursday morning, and participated in out household's afternoon nap ritual. We nap early around here, so when James woke up we went out for lunch-- wings at Crowley's. They have amazing buffalo wings and tons of beers on tap. It's always a little risky to take James out to eat, but that's how much we wanted these wings.

James and Uncle Andrew snuggling

At Crowley's enjoying a ton of wings

Andrew accidentally gifted me this Great Gatsby shirt-- and I just reread it last year!

Kevin lecturing James on restaurant manners-- James is unimpressed.

That evening Andrew, Kevin, Jon, Nick, and Briggs went out in Brooklyn for shawarmas and beers. the next day, Kevin had work, so Andrew, James, and I spent some quality time at home. James even got Uncle Andrew to read him a few books here and there. Then Saturday morning we were off to the Cape to surprise Grandma Kathy!

Visiting Lukas and Sarah in Queens 2013

On Sunday before the Super Bowl, Kevin, James, and I ventured out to Queens to have a BBQ brunch with Sarah and Lukas. We went to John Brown's Smokehouse in Long Island City, and wow, I have never seen such huge BBQ portions! The pulled pork sandwich was the size of my head. And for some unknown reason they gave us an extra one we didn't order? So now we have a lifetime supply of BBQ in our refrigerator. The best by far was the burnt ends. It's delicious. If you go there, just get that and the cornbread, which is actually a magical corn pudding. Definitely skip the mac and cheese.

 

A collage in honor of BBQ- the men look especially serious about it.

James is a little better in the car these days, and a little better in restaurants, so we felt brave. The main problem is that he doesn't really like back-to-back restraints such as the car seat followed by a high chair or a stroller. As a reward for James's somewhat adequate behavior during brunch, Lukas insisted we take him to the new Gantry Plaza State Park. It's a perfect little park for toddlers because the ground is all rubber and the equipment is accessible and safe for toddlers. There's a really great view of Manhattan as well.

Sarah spins James in the teacups

James is a big fan of both the cups and Sarah

Lukas climbs the rope pyramid to get a better view of the skyline

Writing in the snow!

Grandma Kathy- January 2013

We had a wonderful weekend thanks to Grandma Kathy. She got here Friday night before James went to bed, and put him to sleep herself after playing with him for a while.

James welcomes Gaga

Saturday afternoon she went to meet our new best friend baby Ben. He was even wearing the little brown sweater Grandma Kathy knit for him. Look how adorable Ben is in his little sweater! Jon and Kevin were even able to grab a beer thanks to her.

Saturday afternoon with Ben and Jon

She babysat for us in the evening so that Kevin and I could have date night. The last time Kevin and I got a date night alone in Manhattan was in July! So we decided to go big and go to Comedy Cellar, and Kevin conscientiously looked into their reservations policy (that they didn't accept any for some portion of the tickets), but when we got there early they were sold out. We were too happy to be out to worry about it and decided it was time for make-your-own Greenwich Village bar crawl. We made it to the Slaughtered Lamb, Down the Hatch, and Vol de Nuit, before meeting up with our friends Nick and Emily at the Four-Faced Liar. I forgot to take any photos because we were having too much fun, but here's a recent photo of Nick and Emily off their Facebook.

Nick and Emily, December 2012

Grandma generously got up with James Sunday morning and then napped with him in the late morning. As a result of all her love and affection, he now calls her "Gaga" presumably after the queen of dance music. Either that, or it's his best attempt at "Grandma." Probably the former.

While they napped, Kevin and I sat in our living room marveling that it was daytime and we were both in the same room without James. We were giddy with freedom. When they got up we braved bringing James to lunch at a pizzeria and then took him to the park.

Sunday lunch at Village Pizzeria

Kevin and James at the top of the slide at the park

When I got back from the park, I thought it would be a good time to build Aunt Mary's Christmas present to James, a little kitchen set that didn't look that complicated. It was. It involved screws and a Phillips head, and it was very complicated. Kevin was happy we didn't involve him-- until we did. On the bright side, James really likes opening and closing the little microwave door and the little oven door. Over and over again. He also stole a bunch of paperwork from my office trash and jammed it in the microwave, so that's fun.

Sunday afternoon at the factory

 

Kitchen and shopping cart set- complete!

Washington, DC- January 2013

I can't get enough of all my friends in DC, so last weekend we went for a visit. We stayed with Cory and Robin and had a nice time in their neighborhood. Every time we visit, their neighborhood gets a little better. This time they had some new parks and an ice skating rink! We had some meals in, and we went out for Thai, and James had fun at one of the many parks near them.

Having lunch at the new swanky Thai restaurant in Robin and Cory's neighborhood.

Cory teaching James how to walk the ropes at Garfield Park Playground

James demonstrates his gangsta sliding style

Kevin and Cory babysat while Robin and I went out to a fun bar nearby the Passenger, and met up with some of my other friends. As sometimes happen, I had way more fun than everyone else-- but why wouldn't I? I was surrounded by some of my favorite people.

Laurie, Darren, and Janice

Jaime and me (Jaime recently found our first roomie pic from 1999!)

Roger, Lina and me (That's Roger's hand not mine!)

My brother-from-another-mother, Brian

Portsmouth, NH 2012

I had never been to New Hampshire before. Since we just recently went on the Southern roadtrip and were trying to collect some states, I thought it would be a good idea to do something in New Hampshire since we were driving right by on our way to Maine, and James needs running around breaks when we drive places.At first we weren't sure where to go, but our friend Pete recommended Portsmouth because it's a cute town and because it was convenient to our drive. It was the perfect stop.

Family photo in Prescott Park

One of our first stops was Prescott Park, along the pier in Portsmouth. It's a beautiful park that combines Portsmouth industrial and military past with it's modern artsiness.

Fountain in Prescott Park

James shows Kevin what he thinks of photos on the whale at Prescott Park

These are the trailers for Prescott Park Arts Festival's stage

Thanks, James, just what I needed- a blade of grass.

We walked up and down the very posh Market Street.  We only went into the Portsmouth Brewery for lunch, but we "window-shopped" the $5 lobster rolls at another restaurant, and the ice cream. Maybe next time, Portsmouth.

Where's Waldo on Market Street

Same artist as the back stage trailers?

Inside the Portsmouth Brewery

It took a little convincing to get Kevin to stop at the Albacore Museum because it was a little removed from the downtown and we were starting to push into James's nap time, but come on, are you really going to pass up on a submarine sitting in a gully? No, no respectable roadtripper would. We even bought a commemorative mug while James escaped us and ran into the ticket-only museum behind the store.

What roadtrip is complete without dancing in front of a submarine? 

James is really fast now, and he speeds up when he knows you're about to grab him.

Bye-bye, Albacore submarine

Diary of an Angry Pink Baby #7: End of Roadtrip

Nobody asked James if he wanted to go on a two-and-a-half-week road trip, which is probably for the best because if he were asked, the answer unambiguously would have been "no." Since the only words James knows are "mamamamamamama" and "ohohohohoh" (as sung to the New Kids on the Block's "The Right Stuff"), he responded to this unasked question in the method he knows best: puking all over everything in the car.

But we made it a long time before we reached this point! More specifically, we made it to the drive from Kentucky to Cincinnati. James had already been to several hundred states and probably a few planets by then, so we can't hold it against him. He even gave us a warning, which led to my pulling off the highway in search of the Golden Arches. (Based on this trip, my wife could write another blog titled "McDonalds We Disgraced," though I don't know what kind of readership she should expect.) Before anyone so much as lowered a Koala Kare, however, we had the following exchange:

Her: Don't stop. I just want to get there.
Me: Are you sure?
Her: Yes.
Me: Are you positive?
Her: Go!
Me: Okay, but--
James: (vomits on himself, my wife, the carseat, the backseat, all of the windows, the ceiling, the notion of future road trips, my wife's sanity, my ability to form words) MAMAMAMAMAMAMA

At this point, we had two hours to go. We would have considered getting a hotel or sleeping under the highway, but Jason had acquired excellent seats to the Reds game. Unfortunately, I can't relay any more information about getting to Cincinnati because I had it permanently erased from my memory. Sorry!

James's expression conveys his feelings on this matter

The next 48 hours were fun and only a little pukey. Then we had the twelve-hour drive from Cincinnati to Long Island.

James was REALLY finished by this point. He went to sleep in the car early but he made no promises. When I pulled over to get gas, he woke up and never went back to sleep. As in, he's awake now, staring at me with a look that says, You did this to me. Look, I didn't mean to, James. I just wanted to expose you to experiences that have no chance of registering in your long-term memory. Does that make me a bad father? (James's tired look confirms that it does.)

Need I say that we did not make it home? We stopped at a Super 8 hotel where the following things happened: (1) I transported two-hundred pounds of luggage into the room, (2) James didn't fall asleep for ninety minutes, (3) James woke up four hours after he kind of fell asleep, (4) We all drove half a mile to Dunkin' Donuts, where James commenced crying and there was no coffee large enough. The last five hours included two diners and James basically giving up as we drove over the George Washington Bridge into New York. In unrelated news, he was sick for five days.

SE Roadtrip Days 15-17: Vondys and Cincinnati, OH 2012

Cincinnati isn't in the Southeast at all, but we had strategically planned our trip to end there on Memorial Day weekend to visit our friends the Vondys. We had a rough trip to Cincinnati, which Kevin writes about in his post Thursday, but we made it there right on schedule, if a bit pukey-smelling.  Jason, Jason's brother, and Kevin quickly washed their hands of the whole thing and went off to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game.  A very pregnant Chrissy (in weeks, not size) and I fed and bathed our toddlers and then put them to bed.  Afterward, we had a little time to sit and chat by ourselves without husbands or babies for the first time in probably 7 years.  I thought we would catch up on ancient history, but it turned out that we had hours of exciting stuff to talk about just since our last visit in December.  Then the husbands came home and instead of getting our dearly-needed parent-sleep, we stayed up and chatted some more.

All 6.5 of us at the Tyler Davidson Fountain, a symbol of Cincinnati

The Vonderhaars really rolled out the red carpet for us! They took us downtown where we were pleased to discover the Taste of Cincinnati was in progress.  The Taste of Cincinnati is kind of a big deal in the street festival world because it's the longest running culinary arts festival in the United States, and it's one of the nation's largest street festivals. I refrained from having Cincinnati chili because we planned on having it for dinner.  I indulged in a street daiquiri, and then I quickly learned that it's probably not a good idea to drink and push a stroller.  For one thing, James kept demanding my straw.  For another, with the daiquiri in the stroller cup-holder, Kevin and I had some trouble juggling our bottles of water and various James's distraction devices.  And then, when James suddenly became very hot and slumpy in his seat-- a clear sign that we had to leave the festival immediately-- I had to throw out my unfinished daiquiri. This would have been sacrilege to the Ericka that I used to be before parenthood.

Strolling along the Taste of Cincinnati

View from one side of the P&G gardens

For dinner we went to Skyline Chili where I had one chili hotdog with cheese called a "Cheese Coney", and one "Cheese Coney" hold the hotdog.  It was a great place to bring the kids because they could be loud and messy, and the service was super-fast. I liked the Cheese Coney so much that Jason bought me a can of the chili from the grocery as my parting gift.  I also had the famous Graeter's black rasberry chip ice cream. Lots of it. Remember, I am not the pregnant one.  Chrissy just sat and watched me, most likely in quiet horror.

Hanging out at the Vondy's house Saturday night

Their house was a wonderland of toys for toddler boys and James was happy to play all day in their playroom or outside.  He constantly watched Owen and tried to do what he was doing, usually unsuccessfully because Owen has 16 months on him.

Playing with the pirate ship together

Both Jason and Chrissy gave James a lot of special attention.  They are both awesome parents and are totally ready to have two kids because I watched them juggle Owen and James better than I juggle James by himself.

Jason trying to teach James to hit the ball

James snuggling up to Chrissy

Sunday was a low-key day for us, but less so for James who started really acting up around 5 p.m. so we made the decision to leave early.  The plan was to drive straight through to Long Island so that we could be home Monday morning.  James vetoed the plan. In retrospect, he was probably already getting sick. We feel really bad about it.  More on that in Kevin's post.

Thank you for an awesome time, Vonderhaars! We are super-excited to meet your daughter!

Everyone playing with cars together.  Chrissy and I are on the other side of this hall.

Owen: Yay! James: Time to go home!